Kansas City, Missouri
Vickie and Brad Maddox open the show by telling us that they have taken precautions this week by increasing security to insure that The Big Show does not enter the arena. They assure us that this week’s SmackDown will not turn into a debacle like Monday night Raw. Somebody should tell Vickie that this show has been a shambles long before this Monday.
Daniel Bryan makes his way to the ring and tells Vickie and Brad that what’s best for business is him beating Randy Orton at Hell in the Cell with Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee. Bryan tells Vickie and Brad that they have failed to keep The Big Show out of the building and says he is already here. The Big Shows entrance music plays, but there is no sign of The Big Show. Bryan tells Vickie and Brad that he was just messing with them, and The Big Show is not here, yet.
Bryan invites the new tag team champions Goldust and Cody Rhodes to join him in the ring. Vickie shouts at the three of them and demands respect and discipline and she says that for their disobedience they will all have to face The Shield tonight. She then does her creepy laugh but in a even more annoying way than usual and walks away.
The way Vickie announces this match is as if we have never seen The Shield fight either of these men before. Why are they supposed to be afraid of a team that they have beaten twice consecutively?
The Wyatt’s (Luke Harper and Erick Rowan) vs. Kofi Kingston and The MizÂ
No bloody way! The Wyatt’s got the jobber entrance. I hope this has something to do with Bray Wyatt’s injury rather than any type of decline in the pecking order or this would be a massive fall from grace. Erick starts the match against the Miz who immediately takes control by kicking the Sheep’s mask off of the face of Erick, followed up by the Awesome Clothesline.
Kofi is tagged in and loses control quickly to Erick who tags in his partner Harper. Harper and Erick take it in turns to beat on Kofi for a couple of minutes before Kofi is able to counter and attempt to make a tag to the Miz. Erick thwarts the attempt and Harper lands a vicious Spinning Clothesline to Kofi for the win.
After the match Bray Wyatt cuts a promo from his rocking chair reminding The Miz that they are still coming for him.
Brie Bella vs. AJ Lee
Yet another nothing match between the Diva and the Psycho. Boring as hell for the most part. AJ loses to Brie, which unfortunately means I will have to endure this match again in the near future.
Despite the increased security and the size of The Big Show, somehow he managed to sneak into the arena tonight. He makes his way into the ring and tells the WWE Universe that he thanks all of us for our support and he knows that we want him to get his job back soon.
Brad and Vickie rush down to the ring with a confused look on their faces due to The Big Show’s stealthily tactics in entering the arena. Brad tells The Big Show that he has no right being there and he has already lost everything so he should just leave. The Big Show responds by saying the worst thing you can say to a man who has lost everything is those exact words, because now he has nothing to lose. The Big Show then knocks out Brad Maddox. The Big Show does the Yes chant and leaves.
CM Punk vs. Big E Langston
Big E pummels Punk for the majority of the match. The momentum swings to Punk’s advantage when Big E slams his shoulder into the post after a missed attempt at charging Punk. From this point on it was vintage Punk, with a high running knee followed up by the Clothesline and the big elbow from the top rope. Punk attempts the GTS but Langston counters and delivers the Big Splash but only get the two count. He sets Punk up for the Big Ending but this time Punk counters and lands the GTS for the victory.
After the match Paul Heyman accompanied by Ryback and Curtis Axel stand at the top of the ramp. Paul Heyman tells Punk that beating somebody like Big E Langston from NXT is no match for his professional Ryback. Punk responds by saying that he is going to put Paul Heyman through Hell at Hell in Cell. Paul quotes a line from AC/DC and tells Punk that Hell isn’t a bad place to be, and he is willing to explain it to Punk right now personally.
Paul Heyman, Ryback and Axel make their way down to the ring. Ryback initially stomps on Punk on the outside but Punk manages to escape by slipping back into the ring. Ryback and Axel chase after him but are confronted by Punk standing next to Big E Langston. Langston takes out Axel with a Clothesline followed by a Belly to Back Suplex. Punk attacks Ryback with a running Knee and Big E delivers another running Clothesline to Axel. Ryback and Axel Bail out of the ring. Big E shouts out at Paul Heyman, who’s the rookie now!
Face turn for Big E Langston. I think this could be really interesting, I hope now they will actually give Langston something to do. He has been wasted in the last couple months and almost nonexistent. I was not a fan of the whole falling in love with AJ storyline so I am glad they have killed that off. Whatever the WWE has prepared for him all I hope is that they do not have him dancing, I do not need to see that.
After the break Alberto Del Rio cuts a promo in the ring with Josh Matthews. Alberto tells us that John Cena is crazy if he thinks he can return from injury and face the champion in his first match. I agree with Del Rio. He says that he will show Cena what will happen to him at Hell in the Cell. Alberto then grabs Josh Matthews and puts the Cross Armbar on him before smiling and leaving the ring.
The Real Americans vs. The Usos with Zeb Colter on Commentary
This match serves as a set up for a future match with the Real Americans vs. the Los Matadores. Zeb Colter slates the Los Matadores for being illegal masked immigrants that should not be in the country.
The match itself is typical, as you would expect, the Cesaro Swing follows a couple of big moves from the Usos. The Real Americans work on Jimmy for a few minutes until the match is interrupted by Los Matadores.
Zeb Colter leaves the commentating area to confront the Los Matadores but is gored by the little bull El Torito. The Uso’s take advantage of the situation and land a Big Splash on Jack Swagger from the top rope to pick up the win.
Daniel Bryan and The Rhodes vs. The Shield
Daniel Bryan makes his way down to the ring for his match against the shield. Randy Orton, who has something to say before the match, cuts Bryan’s entrance music short. He tells Bryan that he is in over his head if he thinks that he can really defeat him at Hell in the Cell. Orton says that despite the fact that the odds are stacked against him, he guarantees that he will defeat Bryan and be undoubtedly the face of the WWE.
After the break The Rhodes make their way to the ring to team up with Bryan for the main event against The Shield. If you have seen the last two matches that these guys have had against each other, then this one is not so different.
The Shield dominates from the beginning keeping Cody isolated while he searches for the hot tag. Cody eventually tags in Bryan who delivers his five moves of death with high impact. Bryan goes for the pin but Rollins and Reigns interrupt it. Goldust runs into the ring and sends Reigns over the top rope with a Clothesline but then receives a kick to the head from Rollins, which sends him to the outside.
Cody hits Rollins with the Disaster Kick but Ambrose kicks Cody to the outside. Bryan and Ambrose run off the ropes and collide into each other. Outside the ring Reigns throws Cody into the barricades and attempts a Spear on Goldust but misses and goes crashing into the stairs.
Back in the Ring Bryan climbs to the top but is stopped quickly by Ambrose with a Double Arm Suplex off of the top rope. Ambrose attempts the pin but Cody breaks the count. Bryan soars through the ropes and hits the Flying Goat on Ambrose and Rollins. He throws Ambrose back into the ring and hits him with his Big Knee finisher.
Good match with great spots. No doubt we will be seeing this match a few times before the years up. I’m not complaining though because it was reasonably enjoyable. Bryan still seems massively over with the fans however don’t shoot me for saying this but I am getting a little tired of the Yes Chants now. Great to see him back on SmackDown though after a two week absence.
Final Thoughts
Not the greatest episode this week. There were five matches and out of the five I only really enjoyed two at a push. The CM Punk match was good, and I thought the Main Event was just a little better. It feels like we are in a holding pattern at the moment until a few Superstars return. All of the matches seemed to lack any real build up or tension, which is always a must in my book if you about to witness two people compete against each other in any sport or entertainment. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great, easily watchable.
– By Sebastian BowenÂ